Category Archives: 2014

And so today the realisation of 6 years of disruption! As the Edinburgh Trams finally rolls into action, the question still remains as to whether this project has been worth the expense, traffic/parking chaos and the general nightmares caused for businesses, residents and visitors to our Capital.

The first tram service set off at 05:00 from the Gyle shopping centre in the west of the city to York Place in the city centre, before heading out to Edinburgh Airport and then back to the Gyle.

In case my readers aren’t fully aware of the back story, the Edinburgh tram route cost £776m and covers 8.7 miles (14km) from the New Town to Edinburgh Airport and in the decade since the first money was allocated to the project, the price has doubled, the network has halved and it has taken twice as long to build as originally planned.

Only time will tell but I can’t help but admire the work of a mystery prankster who decided to re-design the logo and plaster the City with his work.

I haven’t posted on here for a while but this story has made my blood boil!

A UK Independence Party councillor has today blamed recent storms and floods on the Government’s decision to legalise gay marriage.

David Silvester, who defected from the Tories last year in protest at David Cameron’s support for same-sex unions, claimed he had warned the Prime Minister that the legislation would result in ‘disasters’.

The Henley-on-Thames town councillor, 73, said the country had been ‘beset by storms’ since the passage of the new law on gay marriage because Mr Cameron had acted ‘arrogantly against the Gospel’.

So we’ve not had floods before this then? I can’t believe anyone actually votes for these imbeciles.

I just love the response from Richard Lane, spokesman for the gay rights charity Stonewall. He is reported to have responded to this absolute tosh by saying: ‘Its hardly surprising that we’ve seen unusual weather patterns in Britain, considering the enormous amount of hot air being produced by some UKIP members’.

What drivel will come next? Presumably tomorrow’s story will be that he also blames gay marriage for the lightning strike that has damaged a thumb of Rio de Janeiro’s famous Christ the Redeemer statue since Brazil also legalised same sex marriage in 2013. So much for progress.

Anyone who has paid a visit to my bathroom will know that I am particularly fond of a rubber duck! I used to have a much larger collection but an episode with a cleaner and a plastic carrier bag meant that the originals were lost to the bin men! That said, I now have another 6 wee friends taking pride of place beside the bath!

My collection is small fry though! Did anyone see the story of the huge rubber duck that “swam” under Tower Bridge in December? This was a stunt organised by an online bingo site to publicise its £250,000 “bursary” to help make more Britons have fun. The giant 50ft-tall rubber duck went along the River Thames, past HMS Belfast, The Tower of London and under a raised Tower Bridge, much to the amusement of tourists along the riverbank.

And this week another specimen has been spotted floating through Darling Harbour in Australia to mark the opening of the Sydney Festival. Looking very similar to the London visitor, but with more plastic coverage over the hovercraft-like platform.

The organisers of the Festival say that the duck has been popping up in various sites around the world since 2007, although this is the first I’ve read about it. If it wants to join us on the Clyde in Glasgow next as part of the 2014 Commonwealth Games celebrations, that would be ducking marvellous!